Chlorine Canister Flat Car Build

[SAH]

I surprised myself this afternoon at being able to find the photos.   

It looks intimidating in the box what with all those beautiful etchings and all but the kit goes together very well.  I felt it needed some weight but didn't want to compromise the appearance, so I jammed some lead in where ever I thought it wouldn't show.


Z scale couplers, my eyesight and operations don't mix very well so I went with one of the first solutions Gary came up with during his coupler quest:  Brass rectangular tube and Accumates.  Not as nice looking as Z couplers but it meets my needs.


Here's the photo to go with my wordy description in the most recent W/E Update.


The unpainted model sans handrails.  I was still figuring how to make them at this point.  If the model as designed has a weakness it's the thick handrail etching IMO.  They're tougher than wire for sure but I wanted to see what I could do to make it better.


And the finished model, weathered and ready for service.


I'd considered casting the cylinders too.  Unless you can cast them as one piece I still see lots of fussing to get them all identical.  I'll be interested to see what you guys come up with.

Steve

[bdennis]

Cool idea Steve.. That's thinking outside the square to get what you needed.

[peteski]

Thanks for the writeup, and photos Steve!  As I mentioned in the weekend report thread - very clever idea for the tanks!

[up1950s]

Thanks , great idea and results .

[sirenwerks]

Steve, thanks for the primer.  I have one of these waiting to be built, and your approach is applicable in other situations too.

[JMaurer1]

Thanks from me as well. I was wondering exactly how you did the canisters but the pictures explained it perfectly.

BTW, I FINALLY found someone who makes decals for this car in N scale. They have them for Penn Salt and Virginia Smelting. Don't know if I can post any more info here though...message me if you need it.

[peteski]

Thanks from me as well. I was wondering exactly how you did the canisters but the pictures explained it perfectly.

BTW, I FINALLY found someone who makes decals for this car in N scale. They have them for Penn Salt and Virginia Smelting. Don't know if I can post any more info here though...message me if you need it.

Post it away - I never seen any problems when people post specific company or product  info here.

[JMaurer1]

http://home.comcast.net/~jerryglow/decals/

You can find them under Chlorine tank cars. Here's what they look like:

[TrainCat2]

Great canisters and car Steve..

[Bob Bufkin]

That is a great looking car.  What industries would these be shipped to?

[TrainCat2]

Some more info can be found in an old thread.

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=15047.msg125394#msg125394

[SAH]

Thanks for the kind words guys and you're quite welcome for the tips.  It was a year plus after I bought the kit before construction began.  The question of what to do about the canister ends held me back frankly.  I've since seen a photo of canisters with flat ends.  OR, what I saw was the BOTTOM of the canister.  I think the round bubble is a cover for the connection fittings and such.  I've never seen a photo showing both type of ends loaded on the same side of a car however.

[peteski]

Question: are the railings you used the ones which came photoetched, or did you make them out of wire?  The photoetched ones in my kit look a bit on the chunky side.

JMaurer1: thanks for the decal info.

[JMaurer1]

N/P

I think they have to be made from wire. They are too fine and round to be the etching that comes in this (otherwise fantastic) kit.

I've built mine up to doing the cylinders too and then stopped trying to decide how to continue. Now I need a new excuse not to finish the car (J/K, I never really need an excuse not to do anything). I'm thinking now I can do the cylinders and found a source of decals, this car just moved to the front of the table.

I'm thinking I need to make all of the data I've acquired public (photos, road and number data, etc). Maybe TrainCat will include it with his kits . 

[TrainCat2]

Maybe TrainCat will include it with his kits . 

Discontinued . . . . .